Automatic rear door lock for vehicle bodies



June 4, 1935. J. c. 'SELL I 2,003,394

AUTOMATIC RER DOOR LOCK FOR VEHICLE BODIES June 4, 1935 J. c. SELL 2,003,394

AUTOMATIC REAR DOOR LOCK FOR VEHICLE BODIES Filed May 8, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hita/Hey.

Patented June 4, 1935 UNITED STATES PATasT OFFICE AUTOMATIC REAR DOOR LOCK FOR VEHICLE BODIES 2 Claims.

It is understood generally that it is the common practice in the designing and construction of vehicle bodies and particularly the automobile body, that a separate and independent lock is provided for each door of the body, and the automobile body can only belocked by `locking the door opposite the drivers seat. This isaccomplished provided that the remaining three doors have `been previously locked by tripping the respective levers provided for this purpose, otherwise only one door will be locked. This of course refers to the well known four door sedan to which the invention is dedicated.

The principal object of the invention is'to provide a novel mechanical arrangement within the pillar of the body upon each side thereof whereby upon closing either of the front doors of the body the corresponding rear door will be locked simultaneously, and accordingly upon opening of the front door the corresponding rear door will be immediately released or unlocked.

Iny this manner it is obvious that it would be impossible for failure to remember to lock the rear'doors, and for this reason the invention presents a truely safe and automatic protection particularly with reference to children who are frequent occupants of the rear seat of the four-door sedan.

The invention possesses further advantages, as

will become readily apparent 'during the course of the following detailed description, illustrated throughout the accompanying drawings, and more specically pointed out in the appended claims.

With reference to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a reduced partial side elevation of a modern four-door sedan being equippedwith the invention. l

Figures 2 and 3 respectively are sectional assemblies of the invention; and Figure 2 shows the 40 front and rear door being normally closed, while Figure 3 shows the rear door in the act of being released.

Figure 4 is a view taken directly upon line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a view likewise taken upon line .'i--S` of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a view taken upon line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a view upon line T T of Figure 2..

Figure 8 being a view taken upon line 8-8 of Figure 2.

Figure 9 is a sectional assembly of a modied form of the invention showing the front and rear door in a closed position.

Figure 10 is a view taken upon line Ill-I0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the mechanism of modified form shown in Figure 9.

Figure 12 is an elevation of one of the principal elements of the major structure shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 13 is a section takendirectly upon line I3--I3 of Figure 12. K

Figure 14 is a section upon line I4I4 of Figure 12.

Figure 15 is an elevation of one of the elements of the major structure.

Figure 16 is an end elevation taken directly at line I--IS of Figure 15.

In the following detailed description-the alphabetical letters will refer to portions of thebody not a part of the invention, whileI the customary portion 5 of the latching member of the device.

Said latching member has a round body portion 6, also a peripheral flange I upon said member as shown. Body portion 6 is extended and forming thereby latching portion 8, which is adapted to slidably engage an opening provided for this purpose in pillar B, and it is seen that coil spring 9 is provided and interposed between flange 1 and the inner surface of the wall of pillar B.

An opening is also provided in rear door C for the accommodation of plate I0, and said plate being secured to said door by screws II with the usual nuts therefor. Case I2 is provided and is of the formation as indicated and is secured to door C by screws II. This case is for the purpose of accommodating latching member having square body I3 which is adapted to be slidably positioned therein. Said member has a latching portion I4 formed upon one end thereof which is adapted to slidably 'engage an opening in plate I0. The opposite end of said member has the recessed portion I5 formed therein so as to receive one end of coil spring I6 and the opposite end of said spring eing adapted to bear against the member is retained in direct contact with striker I with positive pressure upon this contact by spring 9. In this position of said member portion 8 thereof projects from pillar B to a point whereby portion I4 'of an additional latching member can not pass portion 8, consequently rear door C is positively locked andwill remain in a locked position until at such time .when the front door A is opened, as clearly shown in Figure 3. Striker I then clears portion 5 and the pillar latching member slides within said pillar until stopped by flange 1 by virtue of spring 8.

In this manner portion 8 of said member will clear portion I4 of the additional latching member and permit said portion Il to pass portion 8 which accordingly permits rear door C to be V instantly opened.

A very important feature of the invention is the provision it embodies for closing rear door C.

when front door A has been previously closed. This is accomplished by virtue of the beveled portion I4 of one of the latching members which is adapted to strike portion 8 of the pillar latching member as rear door C is closed, and by virtue of spring I6 portion I4 will move suiciently against said spring so as to clear the path for portion 8. In this manner it is understood that by reason of front door A having been previously closed, it will not interfere with the successful operation of the device in the event either of said doors is first closed.

Referring to Figures 9, 10 and 11, the modied form of the invention provides that front door A is arranged so as to form striker I within the metal f said door, thus obviating the necessity of having a separate member for this purpose, and also the operation of securing the same to said door.

The latching member of the major structure with portions 5, 8, 1 and 8 thereon, and spring 9, are retained, however the additional latching unit is new, and comprises plate i8 having upturned end I9 and is adapted to be secured within rear door Cin the position as indicated and in any approved manner.

A latch member is provided, having body portion 20 with extended `latching portion 2I formed thereon, and said portion beingadapted to slidably engage an opening through upturned end I9 through the metal of door C and clip 22 being the guide for said sliding member as indicated. Elongated stud 23 is employed and is adapted to threadedly engage body portion 28 with the opposite end portion of said stud to slidably engage an opening within upturned portion 2l of plate I8. Also coil spring 25 encircles said stud and is interposed between body portion 20 and upturned portion 24 as shown. In this manner it is understood that the latching unit just described will completely substitute the latching unit of rear'door C of the major structure.

Still another decided advantage of the invention is the fact that an automobile body may be equipped with same which would be entirely independentof the present door locking systems and accordingly will not interfere with the normal operation of said locks.

While. a single major embodiment of the invention is herein described and claimed, the same is nevertheless susceptible to minor changes, if this condition presents itself during any probable further development of the device for the market, however in any eventuality a departure from the general principle disclosed would be consistently avoided.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. A safety latch for automobile doors wherein there is provided a pillar between the swinging front and rear,doors comprising, a sliding bolt mounted in the pillar, the ends of the bolt projecting beyond the respective sides of the pillar, a sliding spring projected keeper mounted in the edge of the rear door adjacent the pillar, the rear end of the bolt being held in locking engagement with the keeper by the front door when both of said doors are in` a closed position, and means for automatically moving the bolt forwardly out of the path of movement of the keeper when the front door is moved outwardly, permitting the rear door to bemoved outwardly.

2. A safety latch for automobile doors, wherein a pillar is arranged between the front and rear doors, comprising in combination, a sliding bolt mounted in the pillar, the ends of the bolt projecting beyond the respective sides of the pillar, a coil spring encircling the bolt and normally urging the same forwardly, a sliding keeper mounted in the forward edge of the rear door, spring means for normally urging the keeper forwardly, the forward edge of the rear door being recessed to accommodate the complementary projecting endsof the bolt and keeper and a striker carried by the rear edge of the front door for engagement withtne forward end of the bolt to move the same into locking engagement with the keeper, when the front door is in a closed position, the bolt being automatically moved out of the path of movement of the keeper when the front door is swungv outwardly and the striker is in an inoperative position to permit the opening of the rear door.

JOSEPH C. SELL. 

